The present invention relates to bedding, and particularly to flotation mattresses and waterbeds.
Waterbeds have become a very popular form of bedding within the last two decades. They provide an extremely soft and comfortable surface, they are relatively inexpensive, and they are readily portable. However, one continuing problem of waterbeds has been the difficulty of providing adequate support to maintain good posture in the sleeper.
A waterbed, at its simplest, is a rectangular bag (typically of vinyl), filled with water to a thickness of 3 to 9 inches. When such a bag is laid on a flat surface, it will easily support a person's weight, and thus can serve as a mattress. (Indentation is resisted not only by simple flotation, but also by the tension of the top surface of the mattress.)
A great deal of development has gone into improving this basic waterbed idea. For example, waterbeds now commonly include internal fiber, foam, or tubing to dampen sloshing. Various design improvements have also attempted to reduce the thermal coupling between the user's body and the water in the bag. For example, it is now common to provide a layer of foam atop the bag. (A host of other improvements have been made which are not particularly relevant to the claimed invention. For example, the bag is often thermostatically heated. In "hard-sided" bed structures (unlike those of the presently preferred embodiment) the complete waterbed may include a furniture structure which provides rigid sides to laterally confine the bag, and a fiat elevated platform for the bag to rest on, while maintaining the cosmetic appeal of good furniture. Numerous other improvements have been made to reduce sloshing or guard against leakage.)